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Holländische Kultur im 17. Jahrhundert: Fassung letzter Hand mit Fragmenten von 1932
Grote historici zijn in staat om de clichés te doorprikken. Iedere Nederlander kent de 17de eeuw als de Gouden Eeuw, maar Huizinga zet in deze beknopte grote vraagtekens bij die term. Hij probeert een genuanceerd beeld van de 17de eeuw te schetsen en vindt een tijd van evenwicht, matigheid en harmonie. Nederland was politiek achter op de rest van Europa, maar de Middeleeuwse machtsverhoudingen werden door de economische groei wel subtiel gewijzigd. Huizinga is ook geboeid door de sterke neergang van de Nederlandse cultuur in de 18de eeuw en vraagt zich af hoe de situatie zo snel zo radicaal kon veranderen. Met zijn typische oog voor schoonheid legt hij dwarsverbanden tussen maatschappij en kunst, politiek en Vermeer. -
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First published January 1, 1941
About the author
Johan Huizinga
111 books178 followersJohan Huizinga was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 17, 2017
the lowdown on the Low Countries
Dutch culture in the 1600s is not exactly a rare topic of books, articles, exhibitions and lectures. From Rembrandt to van Leeuwenhoek, certain Dutch individuals from that time have earned a reputation throughout the Western world. The number of volumes already written about the time and place must be vast. I, for one, am no expert on the subject, but I can say that one such volume, Simon Schama's "The Embarrassment of Riches" which I read back in the early 90s, impressed me as one of the best history books I've ever run across. Huizinga was one of the Netherlands' prime historians and critical thinkers. A book he wrote on America way back in the 1920s showed great insight. That's what made me seek out this volume. Unfortunately, while it might be excellent for Dutch people, it is a little too much focused on judging and weighing current opinions in the Netherlands about the country's past (current meaning the 1920s). No map breaks the pages, yet dozens of place names appear. You must know who large numbers of individuals were and what they did, because there is no explanation. The title essay of this volume is nevertheless a most erudite piece. Foreigners can certainly learn a lot from it. The other essays are equally well-written but most also suffer from the same minute focus on Dutch readers.
Huizinga writes that in his opinion 17th century Dutch culture was the exception in Europe, not the rule. It was a unique culture developed in an extremely small area and did not owe much to the wider Baroque culture of the time. It was more conservative than radical---when most of Europe was centralizing politically, the Dutch clung to the medieval idea of the city state. "Prosperity flowed quite naturally from the medieval system and thee was never a point where the old was deliberately shaken off and the new warmly embraced." The Dutch economic success allowed the rise of an urban culture in which social and intellectual life didn't revolve around a nobility. In the 20th century people judge Dutch culture of that time by the paintings, but he claims that literature was more important. Unfortunately we are not familiar with any of the writers. He examines the role of Calvinism in the 17th century and goes on to look at art, sculpture, literature, science, and architecture at the time. Decrying French classicism as the "sickness that sapped our culture of its national strength", he asks finally what made that particular variety of Dutch civilization decline so rapidly and collapse in the 18th century. it seems to me that perhaps small countries can't remain immune to influences from bigger neighbors. Huizinga's question is---did the Dutch people lose some national qualities that produced the great cultural flowering of the 1600s? The question remains.
Dutch culture in the 1600s is not exactly a rare topic of books, articles, exhibitions and lectures. From Rembrandt to van Leeuwenhoek, certain Dutch individuals from that time have earned a reputation throughout the Western world. The number of volumes already written about the time and place must be vast. I, for one, am no expert on the subject, but I can say that one such volume, Simon Schama's "The Embarrassment of Riches" which I read back in the early 90s, impressed me as one of the best history books I've ever run across. Huizinga was one of the Netherlands' prime historians and critical thinkers. A book he wrote on America way back in the 1920s showed great insight. That's what made me seek out this volume. Unfortunately, while it might be excellent for Dutch people, it is a little too much focused on judging and weighing current opinions in the Netherlands about the country's past (current meaning the 1920s). No map breaks the pages, yet dozens of place names appear. You must know who large numbers of individuals were and what they did, because there is no explanation. The title essay of this volume is nevertheless a most erudite piece. Foreigners can certainly learn a lot from it. The other essays are equally well-written but most also suffer from the same minute focus on Dutch readers.
Huizinga writes that in his opinion 17th century Dutch culture was the exception in Europe, not the rule. It was a unique culture developed in an extremely small area and did not owe much to the wider Baroque culture of the time. It was more conservative than radical---when most of Europe was centralizing politically, the Dutch clung to the medieval idea of the city state. "Prosperity flowed quite naturally from the medieval system and thee was never a point where the old was deliberately shaken off and the new warmly embraced." The Dutch economic success allowed the rise of an urban culture in which social and intellectual life didn't revolve around a nobility. In the 20th century people judge Dutch culture of that time by the paintings, but he claims that literature was more important. Unfortunately we are not familiar with any of the writers. He examines the role of Calvinism in the 17th century and goes on to look at art, sculpture, literature, science, and architecture at the time. Decrying French classicism as the "sickness that sapped our culture of its national strength", he asks finally what made that particular variety of Dutch civilization decline so rapidly and collapse in the 18th century. it seems to me that perhaps small countries can't remain immune to influences from bigger neighbors. Huizinga's question is---did the Dutch people lose some national qualities that produced the great cultural flowering of the 1600s? The question remains.
April 9, 2023
Kniha o "zlatom období" v histórii Nizozemskych provincii, o dobe, keď ich kultúra aj hospodárstvo najviac kvitli.. Rozoberá príčiny toho, že práve v tomto období Nizozemská kultúra tak prosperovala - z geografického, historického, hospodárskeho aspektu.. Hovorí o kultúre Nizozemcov - v com bola ina od ostatných v Európe a v čom sa inšpirovala velikánmi iných krajín.. Nebyť toho sentimentalizmu a až prehnanemu nacionalizmu, či tazkopadnemu jazyku ktorý môžeme vysvetliť tým, kedy autor žil, dám možno o hviezdičku viac..
June 17, 2023
Geschreven in een lekker meeslepende stijl, heel zelfzeker en best boeiend. Opvallend is dat Huizinga bij de bespreking van de schilderijen van Vermeer een vervalsing bespreekt (die in 1941 nog niet ontmaskerd was), met de toch wel opmerkelijke woorden: dat Vermeer juist daar eigenlijk te kort schiet. Sterk!
May 22, 2026
Se leggiamo questo testo come se fosse un regolare saggio storico contemporaneo sarebbe gravemente insufficiente. Anche a causa del fatto che nasce dall'unione di tre conferenze di Huizinga, mancano le note nei passaggi più salienti, si fanno ragionamenti più legati ai sentimenti che alla storia dimostrabile, spesso mancano documenti e date.
Invece, credo che questo titolo vada letto come se fosse il racconto di un nonno, di un anziano che consegna ai nipoti il suo ricordo legato ad un'epoca ormai finita. Huizinga è così bravo da vivere con nostalgia un'epoca che non ha neanche vissuto, e la comunica benissimo.
Tocca un po' tutti gli ambiti dell'Olanda del '600 senza mai andare a fondo, dalla poesia all'architettutra passando per l'economia e la politica, perché il suo intento non è quello di insegnare, ma quello di raccontare soprattutto a livello emotivo un periodo storico fondamentale per il suo paese,
Se leggiamo il libro con queste lenti, tenendo anche conto della situazione in cui l'autore si trovava mentre stava scrivendo, non possiamo renderci conto che si tratti di un testo commovente.
Invece, credo che questo titolo vada letto come se fosse il racconto di un nonno, di un anziano che consegna ai nipoti il suo ricordo legato ad un'epoca ormai finita. Huizinga è così bravo da vivere con nostalgia un'epoca che non ha neanche vissuto, e la comunica benissimo.
Tocca un po' tutti gli ambiti dell'Olanda del '600 senza mai andare a fondo, dalla poesia all'architettutra passando per l'economia e la politica, perché il suo intento non è quello di insegnare, ma quello di raccontare soprattutto a livello emotivo un periodo storico fondamentale per il suo paese,
Se leggiamo il libro con queste lenti, tenendo anche conto della situazione in cui l'autore si trovava mentre stava scrivendo, non possiamo renderci conto che si tratti di un testo commovente.
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January 16, 2018Now then, I guess I've started to know the Dutch culture and mentality a bit better since now.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews